I saw and was captivated by the eight hour Royal Shakespeare Company production of "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby" in 1984 and have attempted to read the novel off and on ever since. To my great displeasure I have ever been able to accomplish that task. However, I found this audiobook if the novel to be just as enthralling and moving as that seminal theater experience of three decades past. Simon Vance is the perfect storyteller, rendering the complex tale quite lucid and bringing the multitude of characters to vivid life. Even the loquacious and sometimes tiresome Mrs. Nickleby became amusing in Vance's performance as he made even her long-winded speeches positively musical. I can think of no better way to pass a long car trip or hours on a beach than by listening to this lovely and compelling audio rendering of "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby."

As an entreprenuer, it is hard for me to shut off my brain! It is also hard for me to sit still! I love audibles! I can exercise, work on "chores" , travel and be entertained! Always looking for a good story!

What an incredible book to read during the Christmas holiday. The narrator was without a doubt one of the best I have ever heard. He did a masterful job of creating the characters that I could recognize each person without verbal cues.

I now understand why this work is a classic. No current day story is as powerful as this. My life has been enriched as a result of listening to this book. Thank you audibles.

Dickens' first pass at a romantic novel and a fine romance it is too, centred on a young hero of conspicuous gallantry and peopled with pantomime villains and damsels in distress by the seeming coachful. Simon Vance handles it all with wit and dexterity, relishing the various dialects and stages of youth or decrepitude in the array of characters. I can't resist mentioning in this context the preposterous provincial thespian Vincent Crummles, and wishing that Dickens had found more for him, through Vance, to say. Amid all the swashbuckling exploits, though, Dickens finds time to depict in Ralph Nickleby one of his most chilling portrayals of evil, a man as close to purely malicious as ever was committed to paper, but withal restrained, subdued, sardonic, and wholly believable. Some critics have found fault with the characterisation, and one can concede that point, particularly in relation to the impossibly cheery Cheeruble brothers and their almost transparent ward Madeline Bray. There is also a drawn out side story involving the fawning relatives of a petty government official with little connection to the main plot that would clearly be a candidate for "abridgment". However to make too much of these points would be carp unduly at what in the end is intended as, and succeeds extravagantly as, no more than a ripping yarn.

What made the experience of listening to The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby the most enjoyable?

The narrator's skill and representing the dozens of distinct characters in this book was admirable.

What did you like best about this story?

The story was captivating, keeping my interest until the last few pages.

Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was my first Simon Vance audiobook.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, given its astronomical length! It was very engaging, though.

Any additional comments?

Dickens is an interesting writer. This was my first Dickens book, and I noticed that he makes choices that would be frowned upon today (repeating words frequently, using adverbs after quotes). His storytelling, however, is very good, and it is easy to see why he is counted among the great novelists of his time.

What did you love best about The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby?

The best of Charles Dickens--a story I hadn't heard before, read beautiful with all of the accents and humor shining through. The villains are very bad and the heros are very good, and all of the plot strings come together in a happy ending. The timeliness of Dickens's stories is icing on the cake--yes, there are morals here for our times, and advice for how we face the "fiscal cliff".

What other book might you compare The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby to and why?

If you love Charles Dickens, you might also try the Bronte sisters. Wuthering Heights, for instance.

What does Simon Vance bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

many voices and accents. I love the characters!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

A moment, not so much, but a character--I love Newman Noggs.

Any additional comments?

I'm now on a roll with Dickens through the Holiday season, and perhaps with all things British and 19th century. Dark times spawn great literature.